Loading Screen Quotes
Below is a list of loading screen quotes from Empire: Total War. List John Adams American Politician, Founding Father, and 2nd President of the United States who supported the Alien and Sedition Acts. *"We're in a war, dammit! We're going to have to offend somebody!" *"If tyranny ever came to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy." *"Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war." *"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy." Joseph Addison English Playwright, Poet, Essayist and Politician who wrote the play Cato, the story of Cato the Younger opposing Caesar and being forced to commit suicide. Many quotes in this play inspired the quotes of American Revolutionaries, such as "Give me liberty or give me death!" *"From hence, let fierce contending nations know, what dire effects from civil discord flow." *"My voice is still for war." Aristotle Greek Philosopher and Tutor of Alexander the Great who was one of the most important founding figures of Western philosophy and science. His works contain the earliest known study of formal logic. He is well revered in the Western world by Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike. *"We make war that we may live in peace." Aurangzeb Mughal Emperor from 1658 - 1707. He abandoned the secular policies previous Mughal Emperors set before him. His death marked the end of the Mughal Empire. *"Strange, that I came into the world with nothing, and now I am going away with this stupendous caravan of sin! Wherever I look, I see only God... I have sinned terribly, and I do not know what punishment awaits me." - Aurangzeb, on his deathbed Edmund Burke Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist, and philosopher, who supported the American Revolution but opposed the French Revolution. He is viewed as the founder of modern conservatism and a representative of classical liberalism. *"When bad men combine, the good must associate else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle." *"Liberty, too, must be limited in order to be possessed." *"All that is essential for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." *"You can never play the future by the past." *"Wars are just to those to whom they are necessary." *"I venture to say no war can be long carried on against the will of the people." Napoleon Bonaparte French Emperor and General who fought the Napoleonic Wars of Europe. He created the Napoleonic Code, the Bank of France, widespread use of propoganda, and an increased use of artillery in the military. *"In war, three - quarters turns on personal character and relations; the balance of manpower and materials counts only for the remaining quarter." *"Remember, gentlemen, what a Roman emperor said: "The corpse of an enemy always smells sweet." *"You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war." *"Charges of cavalry are equally useful at the beginning, the middle and the end of a battle. They should be made always, if possible, on the flanks of the infantry, especially when the latter is engaged in front." *"Read over and over again the campaigns of Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Gustavus, Turenne, Eugene, and Frederic... This is the only way to become a great general and master of the secrets of the art of war." *"Imagination rules the world." *"You must not fear death, my lads; defy him, and you drive him into the enemy's ranks." *"Ability is nothing without opportunity." *"In war the simplest maneuvers are the best." *"An army marches on its stomach." *"In revolution there are two sorts of men, those who cause them and those who profit by them." Charles XII Swedish King and General who fought a war against a coalition of Denmark-Norway, Saxony, Poland-Lithuania, and Russia. This war is known as the Great Northern War. Ultimatly, Sweden lost the war. *Don't be afraid! - Charles XII's last words before being killed in battle *I have resolved never to start an unjust war, but never to end a legitimate one except by defeating my enemies. Cicero Roman Philosopher, Statesman and Famous Orator. *"Silent enim leges inter arma." (Laws are silent in times of war.) *"Cedant arma togae, concedant laurea laudi." (Let war yield to peace, laurels to paeans of praise.) William Cowper British Poet who wrote about everyday life and the scenes of the English Countryside. He is credited with being one of the forerunners of Romantic Poetry. *"Admirals extolled for standing still, or doing nothing with a deal of skill." - William Cowper, "Table Talk", 1782 *"War's a game, which, were their subjects wise, kings would not play at." Carl Von Clausewitz Prussian General and Military Theorist who came up with the Fog of War theory. He stressed the psychological and political parts of war. *"War is nothing but a duel on a larger scale." *"No one starts a war - or rather, no one in his senses ought to do so - without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by that war, and how he intends to conduct it." *"Close combat, man to man, is plainly to be regarded as the real basis of combat." *"The greatest enemy of a good plan, is the dream of a perfect plan." *"The great uncertainty of all data in war is because all action, to a certain extent, planned in a mere twilight - like the effect of a fog - gives things exaggerated dimensions and unnatural appearance." Benjamin Franklin American Scientist, Diplomat and Founding Father. *"Tis a common observation here that our cause is the cause of all mankind, and that we are fighting for their liberty in defending our own." *"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch." (Misattributed to Franklin; phrase originated in 1990 at earliest) *"In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes." *"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." *"Men will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants." *"Even peace may be purchased at too high a price." *"You may delay, but time will not." *"There us no kind of dishonesty into which otherwise good people more easily and frequently fall than that of defrauding the government." *"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." *"To be thrown upon one's own resources, is to be cast into the very lap of fortune; for our faculties then undergo a development and display an energy of which they were previously insusceptible." *"I have been apt to think that there has never been, nor ever will be, any such thing as a good war, or a bad peace." *"All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move." Edward Gibbon English historian and member of Parliament who wrote The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. *"We improve ourselves by victories over our self. There must be contests, and you must win." *"As long as mankind shall continue to bestow more liberal applause on their destroyers than on their benefactors, the thirst of military glory will ever be the vice of the most exalted characters." Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe German writer, poet, and politician *"You must either conquer and rule or serve and lose, suffer or triumph, be the anvil or the hammer." *"Divide and rule, a sound motto. Unite and lead, a better one." Alexander Hamilton American Politician, Artillery Captain, Secretary of Treasury under George Washington, Founding Father, Economist, and Political Theorist. *"When the sword is drawn, the passions of men observe no bounds of moderation." *"Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint." *"Let us recollect that peace or war will not always be left to our option; that however moderate or unambitious we may be, we cannot count upon the moderation, or hope to extinguish the ambition of others." Thomas Hardy British Novelist and Poet *"War makes rattling good history; but peace is poor reading." Thomas Jefferson American Politician, Third President of the United States and Founding Father. *"This is the fourth?" - Thomas Jefferson's Last Words *"Beer is proof that God wants us to be happy!" *"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." *"I have seen enough of one war never to wish to see another." *"The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." *"The greatest calamity which could befall would be submission to a government of unlimited powers." *"From time to time, the tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots." *"War is an instrument entirely inefficient toward redressing wrong; and multiplies, instead of indemnifying losses." *"If ever there was a holy war, it was that which saved our liberties and gave us independence." *"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." Dr. Samuel Johnson British essayist, poet, and biographer who made many contributions to British literature. *"Nothing will ever be attempted, if all possible objections must be first overcome." *"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." *"To a people warlike and indigent, an incursion into a rich country is never hurtful." *"No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in jail, with a chance of drowning… A man in jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company." Immanuel Kant German Philosopher who is considered to be a key figure of modern philosophy. *"Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life." *"Prudence approaches, conscience accuses." *"In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so." *"So act that your principle of action might safely be made a law for the whole world." James Madison American Politician, Founding Father and President of the United States, involved in the court case Marbury vs. Madison. *"You give me credit to which I have no claim in calling me 'the writer of the Constitution of the United States'. This was not, like the fabled Goddess of Wisdom, the offspring of a single brain. It ought to be regarded as the work of many heads and many hands." *"It was by the sober sense of our citizens that we were safely and steadily conducted from monarchy to republicanism, and it is by the same agency we can be kept from falling back." *"A popular Government without popular information nor the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives." John Milton English Writer, Author of Paradise Lost *"None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." *"Who overcomes by force, hath overcome but half his foe." Lord Horatio Nelson British Admiral, fought the French at the Battle of the Nile, the Danish at the Battle of Copenhagen, and the Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar, where he was killed in action. *"You must consider every man your enemy who speaks ill of your King, and you must treat every Frenchman as if he were the Devil himself." *"England expects that every man will do his duty." - Horatio Nelson on 21st October, 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar *"No captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of the enemy." Thomas Paine British Statesman, radical, intellectual, pamphleteer, Author of Common Sense, Supporter of the revolutionaries in the American and French Revolutions. *"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." *"Lead, follow, or get out of the way!" *"From such beginnings of governments, what could be expected, but a continual system of war and extortion." *"Character is much easier kept than recovered." *"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." *"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." *"The cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf." William Shakespeare English writer and playwright, wrote many plays, including Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, and A Midsummer's Night's dream. His literature is still studied in the United States and United Kingdom. *"Cry HAVOC! And let slip the dogs of war!" *"Let me have war, say I; it exceeds peace as far as day does night; it's spiritedly, audible, and full of vent." Prince Alexandr V. Suvorov, Count of Rymnik Russian Prince and General who favoured melee combat over shooting. His military success has been compared to Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan. *"If we had not driven them into hell, hell would have swallowed us." *"One minute can decide the outcome of the battle, one hour - the outcome of the campaign, and one day - the fate of the country." *"When the enemy is driven back, we have failed, and when he is cut off, encircled and dispersed, we have succeeded." *"Win with ability, not with numbers." *"The Church will pray to God for the dead. The survivor has honour and glory." *"Accustom yourself to tire - less activity." Sun Tzu Chinese General who wrote The Art of War. The Art of War is still used today in politics, sports, business, and of course, war. *"The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any hostilities...It is best to win without fighting." *"Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril." *"All war is deception." *"To capture the enemy's entire army is better than to destroy it; to take intact a regiment, a company, or a squad is better than to destroy them. For to win one hundred victories in on one battle is not the supreme of excellence. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence." Voltaire French Enlightenment philosopher who supported freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and a secular government. He was so controversial that the Anciene Regime exiled him. *"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." *"No problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking." *"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." (Misattributed; uttered byEvelyn Beatrice Hall) *"Where some states possess an army, the Prussian army possesses a state." George Washington American Politician, U.S. President, Continental Army General, Planter, and Founding Father who set the precedent for all U.S. presidents to come (except for Franklin Roosevelt). *"Overgrown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty." *"Every post is honourable in which a man can serve his country." *"Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable, procures success to the weak, and esteem to all." *"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerouse servant and a fearful master." *"War - an act of violence whose object is to constrain the enemy, to accomplish our will." *"To place any dependence upon militia, is, assuredly, resting upon a broken staff." *"The constitution vests the power of declaring war in Congress; therefore no offensive expedition of importance can be undertaken until after they shall have deliberated upon the subject and authorized such a measure." *"My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished." Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington British General and Politician who defeated Napoleon (along with Gerard von Blucher) at the Battle of Waterloo. *"I never saw so many shocking bad hats in my life." - Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, upon entering the House of Commons. *"Nothing except a battle lost can be half as melancholy as a battle won." *"I don't know what effect these men will have upon the enemy, but by God, they frighten me." *"We have always been, we are, and I hope that we always shall be detested in France." *"Up, Guards, and at 'em." *"Hard pounding, gentlemen. Let's see who pounds the longest." *"I used to say of him that his presence on the field made the difference of forty thousand men." - Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, speaking of Napoleon. *"The hardest thing of all for a soldier is to retreat." *"The only thing I am afraid of is fear." *"The whole art of war consists of guessing at what is on the other side of the hill." Frederick William I King of Prussia who made Frederich the II where he is today. It did take some abuse and the death of his son's best friend to make it work, though. *"No, not quite naked. I shall have my uniform on." - Frederick William I's last words *"The most beautiful girl or woman in the world would be a matter of indifference to me, but tall soldiers - they are my weakness." Frederick II, the Great Prussian King and General who made Prussia a power of Europe. *"Rascals, do you want to live forever?" *"If soldiers were to begin to think, not one of them would remain in the army." *"Without supplies, no army is brave." *"It is your attitude, and the suspicion that you are maturing the boldest designs against him, that imposes on your enemy." *"Everything which the enemy least expects will succeed the best." *"Artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be an ugly brawl." *"Do not forget the dogs of war, your big guns, which are the most - to - be respected arguments of the rights of kings." *"We are made for action, and activity is the sovereign remedy for all physical ills." William Wordsworth British Poet who contributed to British Literature. *"The good die first, and they whose hearts are dry as summer burn to the socket." *"Not without hope we suffer and we mourn." *"Strongest minds are often those whom the noisy world hears least." Other American *"Is this dying? Is this all? Is this what I feared when I prayed against a hard death? Oh, I can bear this! I can bear this!" - Cotton Mather, American puritan minister, his last words *"It is well that war is horrible, lest we should grow too fond of it." - Robert E. Lee, U.S./Confederate general *"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" - Patrick Henry, American governor and radical (the original quote was from the play Cato) *"Stand by me, my brave grenadiers!" - Charles Lee, U.S. general, his last words *"In war, indeed, there can be no substitute for victory." - Douglas MacArthur, U.S. general *"I have only one regret, that I have only one life to give for my country." - Nathan Hale, U.S. spy, his last words prior to his execution for treason by the British in 1776 (again, quoting Cato) *"I have not yet begun to fight!" - John Paul Jones, U.S. naval captain, replying to a taunt made by the British *"Both regiments or none!" -Samuel Adams, US Statesman, writer, political theorist Other British *"It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend." - William Blake, English engraver, illustrator, poet *"Where a goat can go, a man can go. And where a man can go, he can drag a gun." - William Phillips, British Artillery General *"Hail to the chief in triumph advances." - Sir Walter Scott, Scottish poet and novelist *"There are so few who can grow old with a good grace." - Sir Richard Steel, Irish writer and publisher *"Men are wise in proportion, not to their experience, but to their capacity for experience." - James Boswell, Scottish diarist and author of "The Life of Samuel Johnson" *"There's only one truth about war: people die." - Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Irish playwright and Member of Parliament *"War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength." - George Orwell, British author and journalist *"By push of bayonets, no firing until you see the whites in their eyes!" - Sir Andrew Agnew of Lochnaw, British colonel *"Duty and dereliction guide thee back to solitude." - Percy Bysshe, British poet *"The measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out." - Baron Thomas Babington Macaulay, British poet, historian, and Member of Parliament *Mad is he? Let him bite other generals!" - King George II, King of Britain, talking about General Wolfe *"For here I leave my second leg. And the Forty - Second Foot." - Thomas Hood, British poet and humourist, "Faithless Nelly Gray", 1826 *"I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest." - John Keats, British poet *"There is one certain means by which I can be sure never to see my country's ruin; I will die in the last ditch." - William III, King of England *"What, do they run already? Then I die happy." - James Wolfe, English general, his last words following news of the fall of Quebec in the Seven Year's War *"Never do today what you can put off 'til tomorrow." - William Pulteney, Earl of Bath, English Member of Parliament *"Oh, my country! How I leave my country!" - William Pitt the Younger, British Prime Minister, his last words *"Those entrusted with arms should be persons of some substance and stake in the country." - William Windham, British MP *"I would rather wear out than rust out." - George Whitefield, British Methodist preacher *"We English are good at forgiving our enemies; it releases us from the obligation of liking our friends." - P.D. James, British author *"No one can guarantee success in war, but only deserve it." - Sir Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister *"If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was landed in my country, I would never lay down my arms - never - never - never!" - William Pitt the Elder, British Prime Minister *"Where laws end, tyranny begins." - William Pitt the Elder, British Prime Minister *"For God's Sake be sure you do not risk the cannon." - John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, British general, Ancestor of Winston Churchill *"The British Army should be a projectile to be fired by the British Navy." - Sir Edward Grey, British MP, speaking to the House of Commons *"Gentlemen of France, perhaps you would care to fire first?" - Lord Hay, British general, Battle of Fontenoy, 1745 *"Fear comes from uncertainty. When we are absolutely certain, whether of our worth or worthlessness, we are almost impervious to fear." - William Congreve, English dramatist *"The essence of war is violence. Moderation in war is imbecility." - John (Jackie) Arbuthnot Fisher, British admiral *"For a soldier I listed, to grow great in fame, And be shot at for six - pence a day." - Charles Dibdin, British dramatist and musician, "Charity" *"Oh dear…" - David Garrack, British actor and theatre manager, his last words Other French *"Is it a revolt?" A Duke of France: "No, Sir, it's a revolution." - Louis XVI, King of France, upon hearing of the revolution *"I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse." - King Charles V, King of Spain (The House of Bourbon had the titles King of France and King of Spain) *"I see that you have made three spelling mistakes." - Thomas de Mahay, Marquis de Favras, French aristocrat, his last words upon reading his death sentence before being guillotined *"Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre, Savoyard lawyer and diplomat *"I am about to - or I am going to - die; either expression is correct." - Dominique Bouhours, French Jesuit grammarian, his last words *"An army must inevitably consist of the scum of the people and all those for which society has no use." - Conte de Saint - Germain, French courtier and alchemist *"In an age that is utterly corrupt, the best policy is to do as others do." - Marquis de Sade, French aristocrat and novelist *"Mistrust first impulses, they are nearly always good." - Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, French diplomat *"Ultima Ratio Regum. (The final argument of kings.)" - Inscription on French cannons, by order of Louis XIV *"First feelings are always the most natural." - Louis XIV, King of France, "The Sun King" *"Sir, I had little hopes on Monday last but to have supped in your cabin: but it pleased God to order it otherwise. I am thankful for it. As for those cowardly captains who deserted you, hang them up, for by God they deserve it. Yours, Du Casse." - Admiral Jean du Casse, to Vice - Admiral John Benbow following the Action of August 2nd, 1702 Other German *"Let all brave Prussians follow me!" - Count Von Sedgewick, Prussian general, his last words prior to being killed by a cannonball *"Against stupidity the gods themselves struggle in vain." - Friedrich Von Schiller, German poet and philosopher *"War always finds a way." - Bertolt Breht, German poet and playwright *"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher *"A historian is a prophet in reverse." - Friedrich Von Schlegel, German poet Miscellaneous *"Duty is heavier than iron, yet death is lighter than a feather." - Japanese Proverb *"Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum." (Let him who desires peace, prepare for war.) - Vegetius, Roman writer *"When a man is able to take abuse with a smile, he is worthy to become a leader." - Reb Nachman of Bratslav, Nachman from Uman, Ukrainian Jewish teacher and spiritual leader *"The most persistent sound which reverberates through man's history is the beating of war drums." - Arthur Koestler, Hungarian Jewish author and polymath *"War is always fought for old men by young boys." - Anonymous *"Think what thousands fell in vain, Wasted with disease and anguish, Not in glorious battle slain." - The ballad of "Admiral Hosier's Ghost", 1726, based on a real event where 4000 of 4760 men died of disease in a single expedition *"How wonderful is Death, Death, and his brother Sleep!" - Extract from "Queen Mab" by Percy Bysshe Shelley